Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Murder Simply Brewed by Vannetta Chapman is a delightful Amish cozy mystery.It is the first book in the
Amish Village Mystery series.Amber
Wright is the manager of the Amish Artisan Village in Middlebury, Indiana.She lives in a Dawdy Haus (a small house for
grandparents or that the parents move into when they pass the property/house on
to a son or daughter) on the property with her cat, Leo.

At the beginning of a new day she
gets a call that Ethan Gray, manager of A Simple Blend, has been found dead in
the shop.The windows were also shot
with a BB gun.It is ruled a heart
attack, but Amber has a feeling that there is more to it than meets the
eye!She receives a call at the end of
the day of a threatening message left on a trail near the property line.Tate Bowman, who owns a farm adjacent to the
Amish Artisan Village, spotted the message.It is written in red paint.Unfortunately,
this is just the beginning.

Hannah Troyer is twenty-two and
has been working at Quilting Bee.Amber
asks her to take over A Simple Blend.Amber and Hannah start talking about Ethan’s death and the damage being
done around The Village.Hannah talks
things over with her friend, Jesse Miller.Jesse works on the grounds crew in The Village.They keep looking for clues to help solve the
crimes.

After a threat at Amber’s home,
Tate starts keeping a closer eye.Amber
and Tate also get to know each other better.Tate lost his wife four years ago and has never been a fan of The
Village.But, as he gets to know Amber,
he sees things a little differently.Tate, Amber, Hannah, and Jesse work to see who is behind the threats and
damage to The Village.Amber also thinks
that Ethan was murdered and hopes to find proof.

I give Murder Simply Brewed 5 out
of 5 stars.Enjoyable and relatable characters,
interesting setting, well-written, and an entertaining mystery.I have wanted to read this book since it came
out, but I have not had the opportunity.I finally pushed it to the top of my list and I am very glad.I cannot wait to read the next book in this
engaging series.

The next book in The Amish Village Series is Murder Simply Knit. Have a great evening and Happy Reading!

The Second Sister by MarieBostwick is the story about living life, change, taking chances, and love.Lucy Toomy has been working with Tom Ryland
for over thirteen years.Working to get
him elected to various positions including governor.She is now working to get him elected
President of the United States.Her
parents of been deceased for several years, but she has her sister, Alice.Alice Toomey was hurt in an accident when she
was eighteen and has been left mentally challenged.Alice still lives in her their hometown of
Nilson’s Bay in Wisconsin.Lucy has not been
home in years.Unfortunately, Lucy’s
memories of Nilson’s Bay are not happy ones.On Election Day Lucy receives a call that her sister is in the hospital
and she needs to come home immediately.

Lucy rushes to Nilson’s Bay, but
she is too late. Alice is gone from an accidental overdose.Lucy is hoping to have the funeral, clean out
Alice’s house, sell it, and get back to work.However, Alice has other plans for Lucy.Peter Swenson went to school with Lucy (who had a crush on him) and
Alice.He is the newest member of Nilson’s
Bay town council and Alice’s lawyer.Peter informs Lucy that in order to inherit the house, she must live in
it for eight weeks (and part of that has to be over Christmas).Lucy received a further blow when Tom
Ryland.President-elect Ryland offers
Lucy a position in the West Wing of the White House, but wants her to take some
time off before joining him in Washington.

Lucy is not sure how she is going
to spend her time in Nilson’s Bay without work.She has not taken time off in thirteen years.Lucy discovers that she really did not know
her sister very well.She learns about
Alice from her friends (FOA—Friends of Alice), the house, her beautiful
drawings, and Alice’s quilts.Lucy
learns about herself and has to decide what she wants.Peter is glad that Lucy will be staying
around for a little while.Romance is in
the air!

I give The Second Sister 4 out of
5 stars.It is a good story but I found
it a little rambling and did not find it as good her Marie Bostwick's Cobbled
Court series.When I finish one of the
Cobbled Court books I always want more, but I did not feel that way with The Second Sister.The Second Sister has a
lot of twists and turns as Lucy learns about her sister’s life and discovers
that there may be more to life than work.There is some quilting in the book (Alice’s stash sounds marvelous) as
well as two cute cats.

I received a complimentary copy
of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review Policy

If you would like me to read and review your book, please contact me at Doodlesink@hotmail.com. I enjoy mysteries, paranormal, Christian fiction, and contemporary books. My reviews will be honest and are not influenced by receiving a book for free.